This invention generally relates to a stabilized mount for, and a method of, steadily supporting motion-sensitive, image capture devices, such as stand-alone image capture devices, e.g., ultra-lightweight cameras, web cameras and camcorders, as well as other multiple use devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, media players, game controllers, and like devices in which image capture capability has been incorporated and, more particularly, relates to isolating all such devices from unwanted motion during image capture.
Still picture and motion picture (video) cameras have, at some time during their use, been handheld by a human operator whose inherent instability tended to produce blurred still and moving images. In recent years, ultra-lightweight cameras, such as web cameras weighing less than one pound, have been developed, and the current ultra-lightweight cameras are so compact and light that they have even been incorporated into other multiple use devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, media players, game controllers and like handheld devices. In addition to the traditional unsteadiness of a handheld camera, these handheld devices were being operated by amateur photographers, still further resulting in unstable and often unacceptable still and video images, especially during ambulatory operation.
With the increasing popularity of handheld cellular telephones with built-in still and video image capture capability, it has become more and more desirable to rigidly support such handheld devices so that the images that they capture are stable and free from unwanted movement or vibration while the image is being acquired. Yet, the known handheld devices have not been directly integrated with the capability for such devices to be mounted onto industry standard camera and video equipment mounting platforms, such as tripods and/or equipoising supports. Hence, this readily available industrial equipment cannot be used to help stabilize and/or manipulate the handheld devices.
Current methods of holding/mounting such handheld devices have been geared towards non-image capture applications. For example, some handheld devices have been equipped with global positioning systems, and have been mounted in/on vehicles or other forms of transportation by adjustable mechanisms that allow the handheld devices to be desirably positioned along one or more axes relative to a mounting platform for convenient operation by, or orientation that faces, the user. These adjustable mechanisms typically incorporated a positionable tripod mount, a semi-rigid bendable gooseneck mount, a ball end swivel mount, or other types of multi-jointed or adjustable mechanism that was connected between the handheld device and the mounting platform.
As desirable as such adjustable mechanisms have been in non-image capture applications, they are not well suited for image capture applications. For example, the known adjustable mechanisms lacked the capability to rigidly fix and fixedly orient an image plane of the handheld device perpendicularly to the mounting platform. If the image plane was not perpendicular to the mounting platform, then an equipoising support would need to be operated at an undesirable off-axis orientation in order to obtain straight on or level images. As for tripods, level indicators would not be accurate with respect to the orientation of the image to be acquired. Existing multi-jointed or adjustable mechanisms have been prone to movement or vibration due to the flexible, movable nature of the multi-part construction. Such potential vibration or movement of the orientation of the device was detrimental to stable image capture, especially when the device was in motion or subjected to external forces, such as wind.
Thus, the known adjustable mechanisms have failed to effectively and satisfactorily eliminate the problems of instability encountered in connection with operation of the ever-lighter, digital, still and motion, cameras that have been developed, and it therefore is desirable to furnish a stabilized mount particularly well suited to the special requirements of ultra-lightweight, handheld, digital devices, particularly consumer-operated video cameras and like devices, e.g., those incorporated into cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, media players, game controllers, and like handheld devices in which image capture capability has been incorporated.